SINTEF develops cost effective recycling system

Norwegian group SINTEF, in co-operation with recycling firm Tomra, has developed a patented technology that makes it possible to sort different types of plastic and different colours of glass and metal easily, effectively and inexpensively.

Norwegian group SINTEF, in co-operation with recycling firm Tomra, has developed a patented technology that makes it possible to sort different types of plastic and different colours of glass and metal easily, effectively and inexpensively. Although many things can be recycled or reused, it is a major challenge to sort this rubbish. It is expensive and complicated, because it is not easy to see which plastic type makes up the bottle, cup or can. If the plastic is to be reused, different types cannot be mixed. But SINTEF believes a little, gold-covered plastic chip – as easy to produce as a CD – can manage this work. The surface is holographic, reflecting light in a carefully programmed way. With the help of new software that interprets the spectrum of light reflected from or passing through different materials, each material’s ‘fingerprint’ is read very accurately – whether solid material or even gas.